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Overanalyzing Anime
Blog Owner & Lead Writer
When I first heard of the Before Watchmen series, years ago, I was skeptical. I worried that it would ruin the source material by offering cheap origin #stories for some of my most beloved Watchmen characters, & for that reason I avoided them all together. However, with the advent of Doomsday Clock in full effect, I decided to take a chance & give them a chance. While the first entry I read, Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan, was brilliant, this story, unfortunately, has proven I was right in being weary.
Having read Doctor Manhattan's prequel first, it’s difficult not to compare the two in terms of overall quality. I honestly would have thought that telling the story of Rorschach would have been a relatively easy endeavor, but apparently that’s not the case. It’s not as though I feel author Brian Azzarello is bad, but this story just feels incredibly uninspired. The characters, the motives - even the artwork - all of it feels very dull. There’s nothing about it that makes it stand out as something unique, or even worthwhile.
Even the overarching threat that was mentioned at the start of every chapter didn’t have a very satisfying conclusion. However, after spending some time thinking about it, I wonder if that was the point. Perhaps it’s supposed to show that Rorschach isn’t the tactician or #detective that we’re familiar with characters such as Batman or The Question; to show us that, unlike them, Rorschach is an unwieldy beast - just a reactive force to the issues in his city, as opposed to one that tries to consider any preventative options. Basically, he lacks foresight. In that regard, the story could be somewhat interesting - but even still, I can’t be sure that was the intention, & even if it was, the way in which it was done was lackluster at best.
With its bland story & uninteresting characters, this story leaves a lot to be desired. In short, I really expected more. Perhaps Rorschach is just one of those characters that is better used sparingly - sometimes less really is more.
My rating: 5/10
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